At&T; Plans To Slash Up To 19,000 Jobs

The honeymoon is over for AT&T Corp.’s new chairman, who is reported to be preparing to eliminate 19,000 jobs.

Three months after C. Michael Armstrong was hired to transform the industry’s gray lady into a nimbler player, the leader plans to revamp management and staff in a major shake-up, sources familiar with the plans said Thursday.

Armstrong’s planned realignment reflects his reputation as a manager willing to upset the status quo.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Armstrong is planning to cut as many as 19,000 jobs, or 15 percent of the company’s work force. The newspaper, citing unidentified people close to the company, said Armstrong is also planning to reassign much of AT&T’s senior management.

An announcement may come as early as Monday when Armstrong outlines his strategy in a meeting with financial analysts, after AT&T releases its fourth-quarter results.

AT&T spokespeople declined to comment. But sources close to the plans confirmed that Armstrong will move quickly to help revive the long-distance phone company’s lackluster financial performance.

“There will be a major shake-up in the management ranks, essentially because of lagging performance, to get AT&T back on a leading edge of performance,” one source familiar with the plans said, speaking on condition of anonymity.